Shelly the Elephant and Amy the Fish

It was the summer of 1993 that I came into Matt's family (I was 17 almost 18).  It was also that same summer I met Matt's niece's Amy and Shelly (who will always be Shell Bell).  Amy was almost 11 and Shelly was almost 9.  Matt's family lived on a Dairy Farm not too far from their house- the girls would hang out there quite a bit helping out (doing the chores their uncles didn't want to do for a quarter....never mind child labor laws and such :) ) Matt's dad and mom sold the dairy almost 20 years ago.
Since Matt's parents sold the dairy, it has sold a couple more times- the last of which was this past April (2015).  The newest owners decided to tear down the house currently on it (the one Matt grew up in) and build a new house- My brother in law Shawn is a contractor that, among other things, tears down homes.  Circumstances worked so that Shawn was able to get the bid to tear down the dairy house.
We were visiting Shawn and my sis in law Christie a few weeks ago and Shawn mentioned the tear down plans.....
The dairy house kitchen was redone in the late 1980's and has the most amazing late 80's oak cabinets you have ever seen.
It's no secret the love I have for late 80's oak cabinets
It's also no secret that Matt and I bought our 'forever house' last year- It is just waiting for us to move into it when the time is right.
Shawn said he would ask the new owners of the dairy house if they were willing to part with those fabulous cabinets....
The late 80's oak cabinets made their way to the shop out here at the ranch (where we currently live) to be stored until they are ready to be installed at our forever house.
While Matt, our friend Dale, his son Cody, and my Ryan were out picking up the cabinets at the dairy house today, they came across a little something tucked inside one of the cupboards.

Amy and Shelly have grown up- They are in their 30's now....which makes the following all that much more precious...I'm guessing it's been 25 years since they have seen the story Shelly wrote.
Amy and Shell Bell- I love you both and hope you enjoy seeing this as much as I did- Your uncle Matt found it when he was taking the cabinets out of the dairy and saved it for you.

Shelly the Elephent and his friend the fish.
Amy the fish

Hello!  My name is Shelly, I'm an elephent.  One day I was in the circus doing a trick  All of a sudden!  I was in the water.  The water that the fish were in.  I was imbarused.  Hello said Amy the fish.  And would you please get off me!!  You are hurting me!  but I can't swim, said Shelly the elephent.  You are sopose to float!  I can't!! Well then I'll try to slide out.  OK!  Don't screem it herts my ears!  Then you don't do it.  After he got off they became friends forever.  Only the elephent talked to the fish from the outside.  The End!!

The dairy house

hawaii, whales, and hitting my head

My mom is a 'remember the date' person like myself...it was no surprise this morning when I received a text saying that she and my pops had picked Ryan, Oklie, and I up at the Portland Airport 4 years ago today, June 10, 2011.  The flight was a one way for the 3 of us (Eli and Matt were coming home 2 months later) and marked the end of 2 years for our family living on the Island of Kauai.
4 years!
WOW!
On one hand it seems like yesterday and on the other, a lifetime ago.  Personally, I do not miss living in Hawaii BUT I miss the friends we made.  More than once, when we have had a get together at our house, I have longed to call up Julie, Dionne, or Holly and invite them and their families to join us. Right after that thought comes the reminder that traveling a little over 3000 miles for a dinner date might not be so realistic.

A few months ago, I was trying a new recipe- Instead of printing it off, I brought my computer to the kitchen counter so I could read the recipe for it there- easy to access while I cooked.  I set my computer just under the cabinet that our cups are stored- the computer was put just far enough on the counter that I could lean over and rest my elbows on the counter while I read.

Monday night, Eli was showing me something on his phone- something that he had saved in his pictures.  After looking at it, I took some time to scroll through his pictures- about mid way through scrolling, a video came onto the screen...I kept trying to place what the sound on the video reminded me of...those moments where something is so familiar but you just can't quite place where you know it from.

There were certain months of the year that the whales would be moving around the Islands of Hawaii- certain times where you could count on seeing them jump out of the water and splashing around.  Not sure where I heard about the radio station that had a live feed underwater catching the sounds the whales made but whoever thought of the idea was genius.  Writing about listening to 'live' whale sounds does not sound interesting when I am typing it out to you guys but it was fascinating!  I would listen for hours- having it going in the background while doing book work or cooking.  You felt like you were part of something amazing- The sounds they would make would sound different but yet have the same tone as they communicated back and forth with one another.

Eli thought it would be funny to open the cabinet door just above my head when I was leaning over looking at the recipe on my computer....he also thought it would be funny to catch the reaction when I stood up and hit my head on it- Please remember this child is by heritage fluent in the language of pestering.  He comes from a long line of professionals that think its is hilarious to annoy by way of pester....My husband promotes this in our children- he feels this is a generational pass down that will be carried on.  I see it as generational bondage but even with all the prayer and fight back I have done, it has not been broken....put me on your prayer chain- that I would not cave to the pressure of becoming a pesterer by taking on the motto 'if you can't beat em' join em' :) :)

Back to scrolling through Eli's phone last Monday night and trying to place the sound on the video,
The sound I made after hitting my head on the cabinet door...
I sounded just like a whale!

Here's to celebrating 4 years home!!

a goat, 2 geese, and apple trees

The ranch we live on shares about a mile of it's 2.5 mile driveway with 4 other neighbors.  Close to six months ago the house at the beginning of the driveway sold and new neighbors moved in.  Almost immediately after the sale, fencing started going up- horses arrived shortly after that and goats after the horses.
All of our mailboxes are at the beginning of the driveway next to the new neighbors house which means that each day, to get my mail, I park so that my car is just at the base of their driveway access. The first day 'goat' was standing at the end of the neighbors driveway access I figured he had gotten out of his pen (probably by eating his way through the barb wire).  Wanting to be a good example to Ellie (who was sitting in the back of the car completely fascinated by the goat), teaching her to not be intimidated by animals, I got out of my car and called it over to me....I was shocked when it came over and let me pet it- in exchange, I let it try to eat the sleeve on my shirt (not really, but I think it thought that was the exchange for letting me pet it).  Day after day, the same exchange has gone on.  I started taking Ellie out of her seat so that she could pet 'goat'.  I figured out after the first day of seeing it out that the neighbors must have trained the goat to stay in the boundaries of their place- It's almost like they have trained it to be like a dog. He's super social and friendly.
Who knew goats could be trained to be pets (thank you Goatworld for confirming this)!!

I told Matt a couple of months ago 'Hey babe, I think I am going to get Elle's a goat to have as a pet'

Matt's experience has not been good with goats.  He thinks they will eat the siding right off of your house, eat trees whole, chew the tires right off of your car, destroy and eat every shrub within a mile of your residence.

I say 'I'm sure we could train it not to do that'
to which he replies 'The only think goats are good for is their milk....are you going to milk it?'
'of course' is my response and I smile 'but only if we could get a whole herd of brown egg laying chickens'
cause I would just assume to eat raw brown eggs right out of the vent than touch the utter on a goat or drink (or even have the glass the milk is in touch even one shelf in my refrigerator) the milk from it.

and then Matt goes back to 'seriously steph, we not getting a goat'
'i'm serious!' he goes on to say

and so Elle's and I stop and pet 'goat' everyday he's out and we talk about what it would be like owning a pet like him.
and I keep working on Matt

In the near future (no date set) we will be moving to our house that has a bit of acreage (16 Acres). Matt is fencing it for cows
he has also agreed that we will put in a small orchard of apple trees
to which I added 'we will put 2 geese in the area of the apple trees'
the idea for this is from a house I drive by everyday on my way to Ellie's school- they have 2 geese in their field and it's adorable
Matt says 'have fun stepping in the goose poop- they poop as much as dogs only you cant train them to go in a certain area'
If you drive by our house, once we move and plant our apple trees, and the trees are barkless then let your eyes keep looking in the orchard.....look until you find Ellie's goat- the one that's obese from all of the bark it's eaten.....if our house is missing it's siding then you know it has eaten through the fence and found it's way into the area where our house is.  If my car is sitting on rims and the rubber is all missing then expect that you will be coming to dinner and enjoying a meal of goat :) :) :)

Hope you are all having a great Wednesday!!

for my buma family

This post is for the Buma family

Who are all up in Washington at a wedding that I am so bummed Matt and I were not able to attend (Congratulations Jonathan and Rachel- we love you)

Matt, Ellie, and I were able to visit the Cemetery where Matt's dad, John, was buried this past December.  Dad Buma was a Veteran and was able to be buried in a cemetery that recognizes those who have served .  It was an honor to be part of the ceremonies that were put on today- to see the respect and love that (literally) several thousand people showed to our fallen and passed.  

To all of those who have served or are serving our country- THANK YOU!

and to my Buma family.....Love you guys.

by the looks of it

By the looks of it....
My Matt missed the memo that we were doing a funny face....

hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!


P.S. This picture is compliments of my sister in law Liz (a-beth) who said I looked like a dinosaur- to which I looked at the picture after she said it and we busted up laughing (again)

but he was dad...

I was standing at my sister in law Rhonda's kitchen sink yesterday, looking out into her backyard, and stopped my eyes at the two hummingbird feeders hanging from the tree just beyond the window.
It's interesting how, when you have lost someone you love, you have moments where something will bring back a memory- or multiple memories will flood you....make you stop in your tracts and all but take your breath away.  I have found that the memories in those moments did not seem significant at the time of making- they may have been just ordinary moments that passed unrecognized....maybe repetitive actions, sights, sounds, or smells that were so familiar you didn't realize how much your heart would miss them when they were gone.
It has been almost 6 months since Matt's dad went to his Heavenly home
Matt and I talk fairly often about how much we miss him
oh, he was ornery and stubborn
he had made his fair share of mistakes
and choose so much complicated
but he was dad
a man I cared deeply about and loved dearly
a man I sat many an hour with
on his porch at the house on Minthorne
he drinking his coffee (in 100 degree weather) and I drinking water (out of the same Tupperware cup)
we would watch the hummingbirds that seemed to flock to his feeders- the ones hanging from the porch we were sitting on.....moments passing unrecognized for the memories they would someday bring.

As I snapped the picture of Rhonda's hummingbird feeders it was automatically spoken- even though dad was not present..even though he couldn't hear- It still needed to be said... for grief's sake- for healing's sake...

"I love and miss you dad."

After I said those 6 words, the grief started quieting down and I thanked God for the memories I have of Matt's dad...the good ones are so fun to remember and the bad ones are great reminders that we all need grace and love from each other.

Moments are such a gift...

God allowing us to create memories...

places in our heart where we remember and keep with us those we love.

knit picker and the psychological itch

The first and only time I have had head lice was after visiting my great- grandma Griffin.  The canned tuna fish that my grandpa had caught and canned in their pantry frightened me more having small bugs crawling around my head.  Both Jodi and I came down with a raging case of lice after spending the night at her house...the canned tuna, hearing my great grandma calling her dog over and over (Tulee), and that her bathroom floor had a slant to it are the memories I still remember to this day.  I also remember that her house smelled like Ovaltine (I can still see her standing at her stove warming the water so I could drink Ovaltine with her) and coastal moldy air (she lived in a small coastal town just across the California boarder).
The one and only time I remember staying at her house overnight built an arsenal of memories Jodi and I would use against each other well into our high school years.  For years, we would say the word 'Tulee' in a high pitch slight yell and then bust up laughing- Jod and I would also try to gross each other out at the dinner table (again, this is years after our nights stay) and say things like 'There is grandma Griffin hawk in your milk'.  The fact that someone would can fish meat (all that tuna in the pantry) was beyond anything I could comprehend- It was bad enough that our pet cow Bandit had recently been butchered and I was dealing with trying to will myself to eat that meat....then you throw in the new knowledge that fish meat could be canned and wa-la....let the food phobias begin.
I really think the cure-all for our head lice was that my mom brought us to the local beauty school and had the economy perm done.  Whatever the lice treatment didn't take care of, that perm solution did.

Fast forward 14 years and add into the factor that I had just graduated from Beauty School.

I remember the first case of head lice I ever encountered.  As I was parting off this poor woman's hair to start coloring, I noticed a patch of off white small like dandruff clump of knits.  It's something you don't even really need to be educated on....you just know when you see it.

I didn't have the heart to send her out knit ridden so I ushered her off to the store to buy 'treatment' and we sat in the salon I worked at....hour after hour....and I picked her knits out (knits are the eggs before they hatch into lice- the lice are the actual bugs).  We hugged when it was all over and she vowed to come back in for a knit check.
It was then I knew I would forever be a knit picker
and since then I have picked the knits out of more people's hair than I can count

I would much rather pick knits than go pick up brown eggs (which come from chicken's 'vents' not butts is what Russ from my church informed me...bleh)
I would much rather pick knits than stare at home canned fish meat (sorry grandma griffin)
I would definitely much rather pick knits than....well, than a lot of things that people would consider normal

now that we've talked about lice....
let the fact that we've talked about it sink in.....
now go ahead....
reach up to your head and give it a scratch....

That there is called the psychological itch :)

p.s. Just an FYI-
It's knit/lice season.  Over the past several months I have seen many cases (and done my fair share of knit picking).  I learned about a product from a sweet friend who battled a significant case of lice called Vamousse.  Over the past 20 years I have used most every product over the counter and this by far exceeds them all.  It is a bit spendier ($19.99 instead of $6-10) but worth every penny.  You can find it at Wal Mart.  I have yet to see a case of head lice cured if the person saves their pillow (some try to put it in the dryer) and I have yet to see a case cured without multiple treatments. While Tea Tree and other natural remedy's are great for maintenance- they are not great for the initial treatment- knits and lice are hearty and can withstand a lot....it's usually takes the strong stuff and unfortunately it's not 'all natural'.

Hope this helps....happy knit picking!!